Installation Instructions

Mustang Applications

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By Bill Tumas:
We have a lot of customers contact us about troubleshooting the horn systems found on the '64-1/2 through '66 Mustang. Although very similar, the '64-1/2 is going to be specific, while the '65 and '66 are going to share the exact same horn system. Today we're going to show you the differences between the two systems, and we're going to show you how to troubleshoot your '65 using our Weekend Wrench project car.

These are the horn components found on the steering column on your '64-1/2 only Mustangs. The steering wheel, turn signal switch, horn retainer, contacts, as well as the horn ring are all going to be '64-1/2 specific. This is your '64-1/2 generator-equipped turn signal switch. The turn signal switch is actually what powers the horn system. The easiest way to determine a '64-1/2 is with this single stud sticking up here. One of these brushless contacts fits into this opening here, and that's actually what contacts the horn. You want to make sure with this installed it does really move up and down. If it gets stuck downwards, the horn will not work properly.

This is your '64-1/2 Mustang wheel, again specific to the generator car. While the plastic ring is going to be the same as the '65-'66, the center is actually different. This hole here is what makes the steering wheel specific. Another one of the brush-style contacts is installed right in here. Again, you want to make sure it does push down when installed. If it gets stuck in there, your horn's going to stay on or not work at all. The steering wheels do provide a contact with it, but sometimes they're a little on the large size, so again, make sure it moves freely inside and out so the horn works properly.

This is a '64-1/2 specific horn ring retainer. While it looks exactly the same as your '65-'66, when put side by side, this has a slightly larger diameter, again specific for your horn rings found on your '64 Mustang. The spring, however, is exactly the same for all '65-1/2 through '66 Mustangs.

Now let's take a closer look at the horn ring and the components inside. This is the horn ring again specific for the '64-1/2 Mustang. It's installed using three Phillips head screws. I'll remove these here so I can remove the retainer, and we'll show you the pieces inside. Once you remove the retainer, you're going to see the top plate. This again is a 64-1/2" specific part. It is included with our new horn rings, but at this time is not available separately. Moving the plate off, you can see the lower plate, as well as the pressure pad. These are the exact same from '64 through '66, so these parts here are going to be interchangeable.

First we're going to install our new lower plate. The new pressure pad goes on top of that. Now we're going to reinstall the original upper plate. Make sure everything lines up. And then finally our horn ring retainer. And it's ready to be installed. When installing this on a car, you'll first want to put the wheel onto the column. We'll take one of the brush contacts and put it into the opening. Make sure it does move freely in and out. We'll put the spring in place. Then grab your horn ring, turn it and make sure it pushes flat in, turn it, and lock it into place.

Moving on to the '65 through '66 Mustangs, we have the specific wheel, the horn ring, the contact kit, the turn signal switch, and the spring. Here we have the '65 through '66 style turn signal switch. The easiest way to identify it is the two studs sticking out for your horn contact. Keep in mind that you may have a '64-1/2 that has been changed to this style, or if you have a later alternator car, this is going to be the one that's going to be installed.

This is your '65 through '66 standard steering wheel. Again the plastic frame is actually the same as your '64-1/2. The center is different. The circuit is grounded for your horn through these two contacts here and this stud at the top. You want to make sure the stud is not touching the metal ends and it's not bent too far up when installing it, or you can short out your horn. This is a spring and a contact kit for your '65 through '66 Mustang. Like I mentioned before, your spring is identical for '64-1/2 through '66; however, the contact kit is going to be specific for your '65 through '66 Mustangs.

This is how your contact kit is going to look when you open it up out of the package. It's going to have your pad, your lower plate, your retainer, and then the contact plate itself. The order that it is in the package is not it installs. I'm going to show you how to install it in your horn ring. If you purchase a new horn ring such as the Scott Drake one shown here, your contact kit is already installed in the horn ring, so if you're purchasing the ring, you don't have to buy a contact kit. If you're looking to repair your horn and keep your original horn ring, I'm going to show you how to replace the contact kit.

The first thing you want to do is remove the screws from the retainer. When they ship the retainers, they actually install the screws on the wrong side. Usually you can just pull them out by hand. Sometimes you may need a screwdriver. Now we'll just take our metal plate, install it on the three studs at the bottom of the horn ring. The pressure pad goes on next, goes right on top of that. Now we're going to install the contact plate with the contacts facing upward. The last part is the retainer. It fits right into the contact plate. It will drop into place. Now we can install the screws. And it's ready to be installed. The horn ring installs with the wheel the same way as the '64-1/2. The spring and the plates, push down on this, line them up with the opening so it'll pop into place, and you'll turn it.

Now we're going to take our new steering wheel and our horn wings, and I'm going to show you how to troubleshoot it using our Weekend Wrench project car. We're going to start at the front of the car to make sure we have two working horns. The horns are very easy to test, since they're grounded to the radiator support. Simply add 12 volts to them. They're going to work. In our case, we needed a test lead to run 12 volts from the battery right to our horn. Put one end on the horn, add 12 volts. Our horn's working. Now we'll test the other one, and move inside the car. That one's good as well.

We removed the steering wheel of our '65 to give you a closer look at the turn signal switch that has the two studs for your horn. If you have any questions on removing your wheel, please check out our steering wheel install video. It went into detail about how to properly remove your steering wheel. At this point we're going to test to make sure the switches are working properly, again using our test leads, or you can use a test light. Put it on one lead and touch the other, and your horn should go off. If at this point your horn's not working, you do have a wiring issue. You'll want to check the turn signal switch assembly itself. If that's good, you'll want to check the wiring for your headlight harness, which goes out to your horns themselves.

Now we know we have power to our switch, we're ready to install our steering wheel and our horn ring assembly. Now you'll put the steering wheel back on the car. We'll make sure it goes back on straight, the same way we took it off. Push it down, put the retain nut in place, and tighten it down. Now we're going to check the contacts in the steering wheel to make sure they're working properly. We'll put our test lead up top here, touch each one of these. Our wheel's good. We're ready to install our horn ring. Now we're going to install the ring through the steering wheel. Put the spring on here. We'll push it down, line them up, and turn. Once this is back together, we'll check our horn. Everything works perfectly. If the horn stays on, you'll want to check the contacts on the ring to make sure they're still not touching. There are insulators, but sometimes they get a little tight, and that can cause the horn to stay on.

And that's the basics of the horn system for your '64 through '66 Mustang. As long as you're getting power to your turn signal switch, and your contacts are good, there's no reason your horn shouldn't be working. If you do have a bad turn signal switch, no worries. Next time out with our Weekend Wrench project car, I'm going to show you how to replace it.